Shakespeare Essays
Othello Tragic Flaw
Othello - Tragic Flaw In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Iago carefully and masterfully entraps Othello into believing that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with Cassio. He does this through a series of suggestions and hesitations that entice and implant images in Othello’s head that lead him to his demise. But what is more important is, he gives Othello the motive to murder his own innocent Desdemona, satisfying Iago’s immense appetite for revenge...
Relationships in King Lear
Relationships in King Lear King Lear is a play written by William Shakespeare that focuses on the relationships of many characters, some good, some evil. This is a great tragedy that is full of injustice at the beginning and the restoring of justice towards the end. The good are misjudged as evil and the evil are accepted as good. It is not until the end of the play that the righteous people are recognized as such. There is great treachery and deceit involved in the hierarchy of...
Revenge In Hamlet
Revenge In Hamlet Revenge. Revenge causes one to act blindly through anger, rather than through reason. It is based on the principle of an eye for an eye, but this principle is not always an intelligent theory to live by. Young Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet were all looking to avenge the deaths of their fathers. They all acted on emotion, and this led to the downfall of two, and the rise to power of one. Since the Heads of the three major families were each murdered, the eldes...
Roman Life in Julius Caesar
Roman Life in Julius Caesar In the play of Julius Caesar, we see a brief picture of Roman life during the time of the First Triumvirate. In this snap shot, we see many unfortunate things. Shakespeare gives us the idea that many people try to circumvent what the future holds, such as unfortunate things, by being superstitious. Superstition seems to play a role in the basic daily life of most Roman citizens. For instance, the setting of the first scene is based upon superstition, ...
Romeo And Juliet Summary
Romeo And Juliet Summary Romeo and Juliet, is a story of two young lovers, whose love was destined for destruction. They did not imagine that their love would lead to the tragedies that it did. These two young people did nothing wrong except fall in love. Three aspects of their destruction included the feud between the two families, the nurse and her betrayal of Juliet and the most important aspect of all is fate. The feud between the two families was one fa...
Romeo Juliet Star Crossed Lovers
Romeo & Juliet - Star Crossed Lovers “A pair of star-crossed lovers”, Romeo and Juliet. From the opening scenes of the play these two children of feuding families were destined to fall in love together and eventually die together. How does the reader see this? How do we know it was fate which triggered these events? Coincidence caused the death of these two lovers. For this reason Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies. For coincidence to...
Macbeth Character in Crisis
Macbeth Character in Crisis The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are many factors that contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth of which three will be discussed. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth’s degeneration are the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth’s judgment, and finally Macbeth’s long time ambition which drove his desire to b...
Macbeth Imagery
Macbeth - Imagery In his plays, Shakespeare uses many forms of imagery. Many forms of his imagery are used in his play Macbeth, including the forms of clothing and darkness. Each detail in his imagery, it seems tome, contains an important symbol of the play, and symbols that we must understand if we are to understand either the passage it is in, or the play as a whole. In Macbeth I think that the imagery of clothing is used to suggest that throughout the play, Macbeth is seeki...
Macbeth Lady Macbeth
Macbeth - Lady Macbeth The downfall of Macbeth was a great tragedy. He knew it was not right to kill the king, but he felt he had no other choice. He was trapped into doing wrong. Lady Macbeth gave him the evil ideas throughout the play. She was his driving force. Without her, Macbeth wouldn’t have done what he did. Therefore, Lady Macbeth is as much of a main character as Macbeth is. Macbeth says, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires...
Macbeth Supernatural Forces
Macbeth - Supernatural Forces In the play “Macbeth,” there were many interesting sectionswhich could be concentrated on due to the suspense and the involvement of the supernatural. The use of the supernatural in the witches, the visions, the ghost, and the apparitions is a key element in making the concept of the play work and in making the play interesting. Looking through each Act and Scene of the play, it is noticed that the supernatural is definitely a major fa...
Macbeth Supernatural Theme
Macbeth - Supernatural Theme The presence of supernatural forces in William Shakespeare’s, “Macbeth,” provides for much of the play’s dramatic tension and the mounting suspense. Several supernatural apparitions throughout the play profoundly affect Macbeth and the evil forces eventually claim Macbeth and destroy his morals. Macbeth’s ambition was driven by the prophecies of the three witches and unlike Banquo, he was willing to do anything to assure that they actual...
Macbeth The Downfall of Macbeth
Macbeth - The Downfall of Macbeth Upon hearing the witches prophecies, Macbeth is set on a path of deterioration that causes him to become blinded by ambition. Lacy Macbeth aids in his downfall, as she pushes him to become so ambitious that it eventually kills him. Lady Macbeth’s icy-ness acts as the horse which takes him down the path he can’t return from. He suffers mentally, at first, by getting tormented by his power-hungry wife. Then, when she dies, it is her soul that ...
Macbeth Tragedy or Satire
Macbeth - Tragedy or Satire William Shakespeare wrote four great tragedies, the last of which was written in 1606 and titled Macbeth. This “tragedy”, as it is considered by societal critics of yesterday’s literary world, scrutinizes the evil dimension of conflict, offering a dark and gloomy atmosphere of a world dominated by the powers ofdarkness. Macbeth, more so than any of Shakespeare’s other tragic protagonists, has to face the powers and decide: shou...
Macbeth Witches
Macbeth - Witches MACBETH Macbeth is presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity and enjoying an enviable reputation. We must not conclude, there, that all his volitions and actions are predictable; Macbeth’s character, like any other man’s at a given moment, is what is being made out of potentialities plus environment, and no one, not even Macbeth himself, can know all his inordinate self-love whose actio...
Macbeth
Macbeth MACBETH Macbeth is presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity and enjoying an enviable reputation. We must not conclude, there, that all his volitions and actions are predictable; Macbeth’s character, like any other man’s at a given moment, is what is being made out of potentialities plus environment, and no one, not even Macbeth himself, can know all his inordinate self-love whose actions are dis...
Madness in Hamlet
Madness in Hamlet Madness may be “mental incapacity caused by an unmentionable injury.” Such wounds often are not easily perceived but may be revealed in time of stress. Hamlet’s question, “have you a daughter?”(Act II. Sc2 182) Polonius about the Prince’s emotional state. What is hidden will surely be told to Cloudius by his adviser. Laertes’ search for revenge is sharper proof that madness in degrees of publicity causes harm to the observers. Claudius pr...
Medea An Abandonment of Gender Roles
Medea - An Abandonment of Gender Roles In Euripides’ Medea, the protagonist abandoned the gender roles of ancient Greek society. Medea defied perceptions of gender by exhibiting both “male” and “female” tendencies. She was able to detach herself from her “womanly” emotions at times and perform acts that society did not see women capable of doing. However, Medea did not fully abandon her role as a woman and did express many female emotions t...
Merchant Of Venice Secular and Religous Views
Merchant Of Venice - Secular and Religous Views The secular and religious views of both, Antonio and Shylock, were portrayed very bluntly. The religious opinions of both characters were that their religion was superior to infidels and also very stereotypical. In the business world, Antonio owned ships with valuable goods and was extremely generous. He always relied on their return to shore and expressed his faith in this book. On the other hand, Shylock was a greedy man and used...
Merchant of Venice 2
Merchant of Venice 2 The secular and religious views of both, Antonio and Shylock, were portrayed very bluntly. The religious opinions of both characters were that their religion was superior to infidels and also very stereotypical. In the business world, Antonio owned ships with valuable goods and was extremely generous. He always relied on their return to shore and expressed his faith in this book. On the other hand, Shylock was a greedy man and used the Bible for sources of i...
Merchant of Venice
Merchant of Venice Many people are villainous in the way they act, and their villainous acts may be rooted in the desire to destroy others, or in the hopes of elevating themselves. Many people may only act “villainous” in reaction to the way they have been treated in the past. Shylock the Jew is the villain or antagonist in the play .The Merchant of Venice.. Shylock mistreats Antonio the Christian, his daughter, Jessica and Launcelot. The first person Shylock mist...
Much Ado About Nothing Deceit
Much Ado About Nothing - Deceit In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare the role of deceit is played to the fullest to achieve the farcical effect that Shakespeare intended to put on “true love.” Nearly every character is effected in one way or another by this never ceasing deceit. Deceit is used to make characters fall into love, out of love, and back into love by the completion of the play. Much ado About Nothing is a play that involves an elaborate network of ...
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing In Much Ado About Nothing, most of the characters had interesting relationships with each other. For example, Hero and Claudio, were deeply in love. Also, Don Juan, and Don John were fighting with each other. Another example was the close friendship between Benedick, Claudio, and Don Juan. But the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice was different than the others. In their relationship, they hated each other, that brought them together. Their persona...
King Lear 2
King Lear 2 In a writing of Shakespeare’s play “King Lear”, the main character is King Lear who starts off as a respected and powerful king. As the story progresses the king loses his power because of his own stupidity and blindness. The tragedy of this play is shown through the daughters of the king, the fool, and finally when Lear’s sanity is tested. At the beginning of the play, King Lear is powerful and harsh. He decides he doesn’t want to be ki...
King Lear 3
King Lear 3 King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic tale of filial conflict, personal transformation, and loss. The story revolves around the King who foolishly alienates his only truly devoted daughter and realizes too late the true nature of his other two daughters. A major subplot involves the illegitimate son of Gloucester, Edmund, who plans to discredit his brother Edgar and betray his father. With these and other major characters in the play, Shakespeare clearly ass...
King Lear Blindness
King Lear - Blindness In Shakespeare’s “King Lear” the issue of sight against blindness is a recurring theme. In Shakespearean terms, being blind does not refer to the physical inability to see. Blindness is here a mental flaw some characters posses, and vision is not derived solely from physical sight. King Lear and Gloucester are the two prime examples Shakespeare incorporates this theme into. Each of these characters’ lack of vision was the primary cau...